Time Travel and Warp Drives
A Scientific Guide to Shortcuts through Time and Space
- Contents
- Review Quotes
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. Time, Clocks, and Reference Frames
3. Lorentz Transformations and Special Relativity
4. The Light Cone
5. Forward Time Travel and the Twin “Paradox”
6. “Forward, into the Past”
7. The Arrow of Time
8. General Relativity: Curved Space and Warped Time
9. Wormholes and Warp Bubbles: Beating the Light Barrier and Possible Time Machines
10. Banana Peels and Parallel Worlds
11. “Don’t Be So Negative”: Exotic Matter
12. “To Boldly Go . . .”?
13. Cylinders and Strings
14. Epilogue
Appendix 2. Derivation of the Lorentz Transformations
Appendix 3. Proof of the Invariance of the Spacetime Interval
Appendix 4. Argument to Show the Orientation of the x’,t’ Axes Relative to the x,t Axes
Appendix 5. Time Dilation via Light Clocks
Appendix 6. Hawking’s Theorem
Appendix 7. Light Pipe in the Mallett Time Machine
Bibliography
Index
“In recent years, a number of books have taken on real science that sounds like science fiction. Unfortunately, most are frothy concoctions that leave the serious reader unsatisfied. This is all the more reason to celebrate the arrival of Time Travel and Warp Drives—a deeply informed, richly detailed yet immensely readable account of science at the frontiers, by two physicists who know the territory. For well over a decade Allen Everett and Thomas Roman have been charting the strange realms of negative energy, twisted spacetime, temporal paradoxes, and travel between universes. In a wonderfully written and especially timely account, they share with us what they’ve learned. Time Travel and Warp Drives deserves a place on the shelf between Greene’s The Elegant Universe and Hawking’s A Brief History of Time.”
“There have been plenty of light popularizations of the puzzling physics of time. This book stands out in its depth and range. Written by two who have done the calculations, followed the field, and thought about what it all means, it leads the reader through the byzantine labyrinths of current theory. I found it enlightening and fun to read. If you have time for one book in this field, let it be this one.”
"I have been searching for years for a book like this. With Time Travel and Warp Drives, Everett and Roman have written an illuminating exploration of the physics of time travel. What sets this book apart, however, is that the authors do not rely on analogies or metaphors. They actually explain the underlying science in a clear and accessible way. My search is over: this book is my new guide to a place stranger than science fiction--our universe."
“Einstein meets Captain Kirk in this improbable foray into the frontiers of theoretical physics, where readers survey the exciting possibilities for traveling through time and between galaxies. . . . Relying only minimally on technical jargon and formulas, the authors open to view the exciting conceptual prospects for designing a time machine capable of slipping backward through the centuries and of riding fast-than-light warp bubbles through the cosmos. . . . Armchair scientists share the thrill of peeking into the universe’s deepest secrets. Penetrating science illuminates humankind’s most audacious dreams."
Physical Sciences: Astronomy and Astrophysics | Physics and Astronomy | Physics--Popular Books
You may purchase this title at these fine bookstores. Outside the USA, see our international sales information.
